Geography is a contemporary and dynamic school subject. The aims of the subject at Lancing is to introduce students to the key issues facing the planet, and to equip pupils with the knowledge and understanding they will need to make sense of, and respond to, those challenges.
About the curriculum:
In the Third Form all students study geography and we use it as an opportunity to ensure all Lancing pupils understand the complexity of climate change, the nature of ‘place’ and globalisation. The course covers including ideas such as global migration, the mechanics of climate science, and the impacts of global pandemics such as COVID-19. We also undertake fieldwork around the school site and in the local area.
Geography is a popular GCSE subject at Lancing, with most students in the year group choosing to continue with the subject. We follow the AQA course, with its emphasis on rigorous knowledge and contemporary content. Over the Fourth and Fifth Forms pupils study natural hazards, urban issues and challenges, UK physical landscapes of rivers and glaciation, the living world, the challenge of resource management and the changing economic world. The course is illustrated with contemporary case studies drawn from around the globe. These include an in depth look at London as a world city, the Amazon rainforest ecosystem and its associated threats, and development issues in Oil rich Nigeria. Although taught in discrete topics students are actively encouraged to see the many links between the different elements of the course. For example, understanding challenges facing people living in slums cannot be understood without an understanding of the changing global climate. Students are encouraged to keep up to date with, and maintain a critical reflection on current affairs, particularly international geopolitics, and relate these to their studies.
Learning Approach
Contemporary content is accompanied by a range of teaching methods. Students will engage with geographical knowledge through high quality teaching from subject specialists. Pupils readily visit the places they are studying either through fieldwork, or through the use of digital mapping and Earth visualisers such as Google Earth. This literally brings the world to the students in various forms!
Enrichment and fieldwork
Studies of Geography at Lancing are accompanied by high quality field trips. In the Third Form students take part in a one day trip to the local area to build on the ideas covered in the classroom. At GCSE, students visit East London and assess the success of the ongoing redevelopment in light of the London 2012 Olympic games which promised a lasting legacy well into this Century. Students also take part in a residential field trip to Shrewsbury and North Wales to study the effects of physical processes on the landscapes of the River Severn, and glacial environments in Snowdonia National Park.
In addition to these compulsory trips, each year the Department offers an optional fieldtrip open to all geographers in the school. These include Iceland and Sicily.
Students receive support for their studies through a subscription to magazines, and opportunities to take part in national competitions, such as the ‘Young Geographer of the Year’ from the Royal Geographical Society.
We also host the CLIMATE + lecture series online, with speakers on a variety of geographical topics, and students create ‘The Lancing Geographer’ journal of original articles each year.
Careers
Geographers often top the polls for the most employable graduates due to the mixture of both numerical skills and linguistic abilities. The teamwork and leadership engendered through fieldwork and the ability to ask and answer the most challenging questions facing the planet ensures a steady stream of geographers in a wide array of careers. In an increasingly globalised workplace, supported by increasingly complex technology, geographers are quite rightly at the forefront of industry.
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